Educators get lesson in desserts for culinary arts programs

Desserts, like the lesson plans to teach them, are about balance and engagement. At least that's what chef Jon Petrie of the Delgado Community College pastry arts program told about 20 teachers at ProStart Educator Summer Training session on contemporary restaurant desserts on Wednesday. "When you get your customers or your students to interact with the dessert, or the meal, you draw them in and make it more memorable for everyone," Petrie said.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneAt Grace King High School, Chef Jon Petrie shows how to prepare desserts during a four-day workshop for culinary and restaurant management instructors put on by the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

Petrie's session, which included taste testing, was a part of four days of workshops at Grace King High School in Metairie. Sponsored by the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation, the workshops demonstrated the latest culinary and management techniques from professional chefs to ProStart educators in preparation for the coming school year.

ProStart is a two-year culinary management program for high school juniors and seniors who want to learn culinary techniques as well as restaurant management skills.

Petrie said getting students to understand ingredients is crucial for educators.

"Everything on the plate should be on there for a reason," he said as his assistant brought out Coeur a la Crème for the teachers. "Look at this, we used goat cheese, which is a little different, but also very filling."

The plate was garnished with lemon, which teachers thought may have been in direct conflict to Petrie's lesson. However, Petrie explained the lemon was included because its flavors added to the crème and could be eaten.

"We'll take the dessert, we'll tear it apart, we'll analyze it, and we'll put it back together again," Petrie said, as the teachers discussed the components of the dessert.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneAt Grace King High School, assistant Blake Allen hands out samples as Chef John Petrie lectures during a four-day workshop for culinary and restaurant management instructors put on by the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation.

As the teachers debated among themselves, Petrie reminded them: "In the end, you have to let the kids go. You have to let them cook from the heart, and if they can defend their choices, let them cook that way."

This kind of discussion is what Amy Dreher, 27, a teacher at West Feliciana High School, said made attending the workshops worth it.

"For me, asking questions is helpful to get the conversations going," she said. "Even if I already know the answer, people bring up stuff you didn't know, and that's how you learn."

Dreher, who just finished her first year as a ProStart educator, said attending the workshops lets her see some "fancier things" to take back to her students.

"Pastries are my thing, and I was really intrigued by the recipes he gave us," she said.

The foundation offered sessions on fundraising, use of seasonal produce, knife skills and management techniques among other topics.

Karen Martin, 54 and a teacher at David Thibodaux Career and Technical High School, said the seminars exposed her to new industry and culinary trends -- something that can only help her students.

"We (teachers) are the link between the school world and their professional life. This year's workshops exposed me to a lot of non-traditional thinking that I can take back to my students."

The mix of hands-on sessions like Petrie's and lecture-style classes allow for a variety of learning styles for the 43 educators in attendance, said James Blanchard, ProStart Coordinator at the foundation.

Just as the ProStart program lays a knowledge basis for the students, the annual summer teaching workshop aims to do the same for the instructors.

"Most instructors have not gone to a culinary institute necessarily, but went to college to be a teacher in this area. We want to help expand their industry knowledge," Blanchard said.